New Orleans Pelicans Highlighted as Team with Work Left to Do

An NBA writer has named the New Orleans Pelicans as a team that still has work to do ahead of the 2024-25 season.

Apr 24, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum (3) shoots a three-point basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter of game two of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

NBA free agency this year is largely completed for all intents and purposes.

Most teams have exhausted their salary cap space by making deals this summer, but there are still several teams, such as the New Orleans Pelicans, that still have moves to be made.

Over at Bleacher Report, Zach Buckley has identified 10 teams from around the league who still have work to do with their roster ahead of the 2024-25 season.

The Pelicans are one of the teams he highlighted.

The biggest move the franchise made this summer was acquiring guard Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks. He is a nice addition to their backcourt with his two-way skill set. One of the best defensive teams in the NBA last season, Murray will help keep that in check. Offensively, he provides the team with a floor general, enabling CJ McCollum to play off the ball more.

But, that trade also resulted in New Orleans having a mismatched roster.

There is a massive logjam on the wing, even with Naji Marshall signing a deal with the Dallas Mavericks in free agency, and they also find themselves in need of some help at the center spot.

Virtually their entire depth chart from last season is gone.

Jonas Valanciunas signed a three-year, $30.3 million deal with the Washington Wizards in free agency, while Larry Nance Jr. and Cody Zeller were part of the package to acquire Murray.

That is part of the reason why New Orleans landed on Buckley’s list.

"Still, this feels like a team in transition. There have been plenty of trade talks surrounding Brandon Ingram, but they haven't sparked an actual transaction yet. CJ McCollum has sparked a few trade rumblings, too, but he's also still a Crescent City resident. The plan to upgrade at center has yet to come to fruition, as the starting spot could come down to veteran journeyman Daniel Theis and rookie Yves Missi," he writes.

One way to alleviate the issues in the middle is to acquire a center in return for McCollum or Brandon Ingram.

Of those two veterans, Ingram feels like the player who is more likely to be on the move.

Ingram has been linked in trade rumors to the Utah Jazz, who have reportedly made center Walker Kessler available this summer. Landing him as part of a return package, along with John Collins, would be a solid deal for New Orleans to address their frontcourt needs.

Something has to be done between now and the regular season to help balance out this roster.